Isekai Izakaya Nobu Chapter 92The Biggest Argument of Personal Feelings (Part 2)

Emperor Conrad did not even try to hide his disappointment from the former Emperor, who was brimming with energy.

When they were invited into the shop, they sat next to each other at the table near the back.

It was strange that the two did not sit across from one another. Shinobu wondered whether they were expecting another customer to appear. The aquiline nosed man pinned a flag on the wall behind the two. The flag had an image of a three headed dragon with hawk talons, the crest of the former Emperor.

Conrad opened his mouth.

「Grandfather, what do you mean by this?」

The former Emperor made an apologetic expression at Conrad, who was tapping on the table with his fingertips.

「Ah, this certainly needs an explanation.」

「Yes, it does. Greatly.」

「…Using this izakaya as the venue was a distraction.」

The former Emperor continued with a serious tone.

「I had considered choosing a renowned inn for the location, but the reason I ultimately chose this izakaya was part of a plot of mine to outwit the enemy. I had a messenger wait at the intended venue to inform the other party of the change in location, so the other party will come to this ship after hearing from him. Besides, the food here is quite delicious.」

The beat of Nobuyuki’s knife changed when he heard the word delicious. It was part of Nobuyuki’s charm to rejoice honestly when praised.

「That’s not what I’m asking!」

The former Emperor nodded at Conrad, who had unintentionally raised his voice.

「I understand. It is unusual for you to be so infuriated, though.」

「Of course it’s normal. I was suddenly set up for a marriage interview. The other party is the Princess Regent, you know!」

Shinobu’s heart ached when she heard the words ‘marriage interview.’

In addition, it felt as if something was impudently forcing open an old, half-healed wound.

Shinobu had run away from home because she was being forced to attend a marriage interview that did not consider her feelings. As a result, she had decided to open Izakaya Nobu here.

Although she thought that she had completely forgotten about it, as it had happened more than a year ago, it seemed that the wound was deeper than she had thought.

However, she was more concerned about Conrad.

What about the woman named Celes, who had made him so happy?

While the two of them had a slight gap agewise, it was clear that they were in love with each other, even to an outsider like Shinobu.

What had they meant by marriage interview when that incident had just happened yesterday?

Nobuyuki also tilted his head in wonder.

「That’s right. She is the Princess Regent. The age gap is a bit wide, but she has good looks. Above all, she’s intelligent.」

「But, she’s the princess of the enemy country. Moreover, she holds the real power in politics.」

「If you’re saying that, aren’t you also the Emperor of the Empire? If you say that you do not want to marry an enemy’s leader, they can say the same to you.」

「That’s what it is. Is grandfather unaware of her craftiness that knows no bounds? The witches who lived in the corners of Mount Taranx pale in comparison to this woman. Why do you think that woman accepted this marriage interview? It must be a ploy.」

「But, that craftiness is what you are lacking in regards to your politics.」

The former Emperor took a satisfying sip of his genmaicha tea, which had become his favourite during the Grand Bazaar.

「My politics is lacking in craftiness, you say?」

「It is lacking. Your politics is too pure and reputable; there is not enough craftiness and murkiness within it.」

「Isn’t that good? I might be labelled as naive, but if it’s possible to do things without violence, then wouldn’t that be better?」

「Yes…and someone else has to bear that role.」

The sharp gaze of the former Emperor fell onto the aquiline nosed man who was standing near the entrance. That man, who was called Sebastian, looked down and slightly cleared his throat.

Shinobu did not understand politics but, despite that, she understood what they were talking about.

In order for the successor of a company to play an active role as the president, the executives under him had to be experienced with both good and evil in order to strengthen his position. Currently, in the Empire, it was the former Emperor and probably Sebastian who filled those roles.

However, Conrad had an immature way of thinking for his age. It would be fine if they could support him forever, but both the former Emperor and Sebastian were getting old.

The former Emperor continued.

「Currently, the Empire is peaceful. It has been the most peaceful this past hundred years. This peace is precious. It must be defended. To do that, you must be prepared for everything.」

「I understand that peace is important. But how does that relate to the marriage interview with the Princess Regent?」

「Well…」

The former emperor knew what Conrad wanted to say, but decided to dodge the question.

There was a lot of benefits in marrying someone with a different personality. That was probably what his grandfather had wanted to say. Of course, there were sure to be political dimensions to his wishes.

However, as his grandfather, that was all he could say to Conrad.

The former Emperor took another sip of his tea. In that silence, only the sound of the sipping could be heard.

Shinobu silently rooted for Conrad in her mind.

It did not mean that she could relate to him in regards to a political marriage. But, even if it was not the same, there were some things that overlapped.

She had resisted when she was not allowed to decide on the partner that she would be walking with in the future of her own free will.

She did not have a reason to interrupt, but she still wanted to say something.

While she thought that, Conrad opened his mouth.

「I…am against this marriage interview.」

The former Emperor’s eyes, which were closed, opened on one side and then closed again when he heard Conrad’s clear protest.

「That’s unusual. Why are you objecting so clearly?」

「I can speak out at times when it is needed. I just didn’t have the opportunity to do so before.」

「I see. Is that so?」

A smile appeared on the former Emperor’s face, even though he was refuted.

It seemed to have further fueled Conrad’s anger.

「The Eastern Kingdom is the enemy. And the Princess Regent is the princess of that enemy country. This marriage interview could lead to a foreign conflict.」

「It is possible, but it can also be improbable. Both of you might be on good terms and build a family together. Marriage has always been like that.」

「I’m not here to play with words, grandfather.」

「I’m not playing with words. It is precisely because I think it will turn out that way that I arranged a marriage interview like this.」

「I never said I wanted to get married, though.」

「I’m not asking you to get married. It’s just a marriage interview.」

Shinobu sighed a little, having seen this exchange somewhere before.

「That is the same thing. This is a marriage interview between the Emperor and the Princess Regent. In the worst outcome, there could be war. That is why, once there is a marriage interview, it means we will have to get married.」

The topic was like an argument between a parent and their child, but there was the social positions of the two to be considered. It was on a pointlessly large scale. Furthermore, it was not a topic that Shinobu could calmly listen to.

Nobuyuki gently placed his hand on her shoulders as she busily and anxiously helped out with the dishes. When she looked up at him, he nodded with a serious face.

A customer was a customer. He seemed to be telling her to concentrate on her work and not think too deeply about it. Her story had ended, and she had preparations to make.

As she moved her hands, she gradually calmed down.

That was right, her story had ended. That felt strangely satisfying.

「Today’s marriage interview is just a preliminary one. For that reason, I asked Aitheria’s city council to show some effort and reserve a rustic pub like this. There will be public implications if it was done at a formal inn, but if it’s here, we can just say the royal families met each other unexpectedly and had a meal here together.」

「Is that even possible? This is a pub on the outskirts of Aitheria, you know? Certainly, the food here is delicious, but it is impossible for royalty to be here by chance.」

Shinobu could only smile wryly at that plain declaration.

Indeed, it was just a pub on the outskirts of Aitheria. Even so, as the former Emperor had said, there were many highly ranked customers in this shop. It was a situation where a connection caused a chain of connections.

「Or is there something else? Don’t tell me you’ve found a girl you liked?」

It was a sharp blow.

Conrad was at a loss for words, and his eyes wandered around for a moment.

From his attitude, Shinobu understood it was about Celes. However, it seemed he intended to hide it.

He had declared to the former Emperor that he did not intend to get married, so he thought it would be difficult to bring her up.

「It’s more than that. Take a look at this.」

Conrad cleared his throat and made an eye signal to Sebastian, who respectfully handed over a piece of parchment.

The former Emperor received and glanced through it. However, his expression did not change.

「You may not know this, grandfather, but this is solid evidence that the Princess Regent is plotting a conspiracy against our Empire.」

「I see, it is a document requesting the release of Damien.」

Speaking of Damien, it was also related to Izakaya Nobu. During the Toriaezu Nama incident and the witch uproar, Damien was in conflict with Nobu.

After the witch uproar, they thought he had actually escaped somewhere after he had passed through the back door, which he should not have been able to pass through. However, before anyone had noticed, he had been caught and was now in prison.

It was the first time that Shinobu had heard of this request to free him.

「There is even the signature of the Princess Regent, Celestine de Oiria. It was said that he was a small fry who was moving around in Aitheria, and a letter was sent to the council after this person was caught. I have received a report from Marcel, the president of the city council of Aitheria. Isn’t this proof of that evil woman plotting against this country?」

「Proof? But this letter does not seem to have any traces of a wax seal.」

A wax seal was wax that was melted to seal a letter. A seal was then stamped on the melted wax to make a wax seal, so people could identify who the sender was.

「That’s true, but that is a trivial matter.」

「Have you ever wondered whether it was forged?」

「That’s…」

Without the wax seal, it did not matter who had written it.

「Sebastian. While you’re here, what is the meaning of this?」

The former Emperor’s voice became low. Sebastian bowed respectfully.

「I have no excuses. I had carelessly believed it because the parchment used was the same quality as the one used for letters from the Eastern Kingdom.」

「You have understood your mistake, but I don’t understand this. You’re not my vassal now, so I’ll leave the punishments to Conrad.」

「But grandfather, it has not been decided yet that this is a forgery, and even if it is a forgery, the Princess Regent is not innocent.」

The former Emperor nodded at Conrad, who could not stand it and rebutted.

「That’s right. Isn’t this enough proof?」

The former Emperor’s attendant began to line up the contents of a bag onto the table.

All of the parchments that were lined up looked the same in Shinobu’s eyes. The quality of the papers were the same.

「Both the quality and quantity of the information are necessary in order to investigate a plot. The quality would be the presence or absence of the wax seal. As for quantity, it’s these.」

「Grandfather, these are?」

Conrad picked up a piece and scanned through it. The former Emperor, who linked his hands in front of his face, answered.

「In the past few months, the name of the Princess Regent’s correspondent in the Empire was confirmed. These are the letters. There are no wax seals and the high quality parchments that were used were identical to the ones used from that place.」

「What on earth are these…」

「These are all forgeries.」

「Forgeries…?」

「The Princess Regent… is being framed?」

At that point, a carriage stopped in front of the shop.

It was Reinhold who then knocked on the glass door and peeped inside.

The somewhat tense Reinhold puffed out with pride, and announced.

「Announcing the arrival of Her Highness, Celestine de Oiria, Princess Regent of the Eastern Kingdom.」